Adrien Rabiot has emerged as a possible free transfer swoop for Liverpool this summer, but how likely is it that the Frenchman will end up at Anfield?
There were reports over the past 48 hours that the Reds had made contact with the 29-year-old, who’s been offered to the Merseyside club following his release from Juventus at the end of his contract in Turin last month.
However, French journalist Romain Collet-Gaudin took to X on Friday night to state that the midfielder’s preference is to join Manchester United instead.
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The reporter posted: “Adrien Rabiot is getting closer to Manchester United! Free from any contract since 30 June, the player prefers Man Utd to Liverpool. Entourage in discussions with the two English clubs.”
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With a player of Rabiot’s ample high-level experience available on a free transfer this summer, it’s natural that plenty of clubs could be interested in snapping him up.
However, with the France international turning 30 next year and earning just over €172,000 (approx £145k) per week in his final season at Juventus, it’d be understandable if Liverpool chiefs had their reservations about committing significant resources towards someone in that age bracket who’s not already proven at Anfield.
If indeed it’s true that the midfielder would rather sign for United than the Reds, then we see little point in trying to convince him to team up with Arne Slot, who’ll have an impressive range of midfield options at his disposal once his full squad has linked up at the AXA Training Centre in early August.
LFC were right to explore the possibility of bringing Rabiot to Merseyside when the opportunity presented itself, but we don’t envisage Richard Hughes spending too much time in pursuing a 29-year-old player who’s seemingly made it clear that he’d rather play for our arch-rivals instead.
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